At Coachella 2011, The Stage Is The Show

With only so much top talent to go around, behemoth music festivals have to put up with some overlap in their lineups. (The Strokes, for instance, are hitting Coachella, the Sweetlife Festival, Jazz Fest, and Bonnaroo in the space of two months, having covered Lollapalooza last summer.) Now, more than ever, festivals are selling themselves on atmosphere. Next in the quest for uniqueness: stage production that goes beyond the predictable combo of cool lights and jumbo video screens.